Chapter 107 – Hansen Von Dorthe (2)

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

"Shin-Woo, you really think we can just leave them?"

"Yeah."

Lee Shin-Woo had sent Kratia away, and when it was about time that they returned to the castle, Jin asked Lee Shin-Woo the question. 'Them' was referring to the Chimera Golems that were still rolling on the ground and grunting.

The fact that they were still in that state even after the effect of Shriek of the Dead should've worn off meant they must be suffering from PTSD.

"I feel like they'll stay like this if we leave them be."

"They don't play a part in my plan for the time being. We’ll leave them for now."

"So... You’re going to use them later?"

"Of course."

Lee Shin-Woo nodded like it was the obvious conclusion to reach and there was no reason for Jin to ask him the question. The Chimeras were already on a Joker’s stage; they couldn’t leave unless he said so. They would either dance to his tune, or die. He would allow no alternative!

The Golem Chimeras consisted of only monsters at level 5 and up. Lee Shin-Woo was confident that he would be able to hurt a general so long as he used them properly.

"What if something goes wrong?"

"Well, then I suppose I'll die a few times or something. Don't worry about it too much."

Jin was well aware of the fact that Lee Shin-Woo was full of hot air. They exchanged a few words before the battle, and in the process, Jin once again realized just how determined Lee Shin-Woo was; he steeled himself as well.

[Kuwoooooooooooh!]

"Keuk. How long do you think it'll take before the general shows up...?"

"To be honest, not even Nellopa knew for certain. But I'm sure it won't take very long. Nellopa had plans that would let him hold out until the general showed up, no matter the situation."

Lee Shin-Woo looked over his shoulders as he spoke. The Treasure Eater was chasing Jin and getting close to catching them. Light was steadily radiating off its body, and it seemed as though it would let out a big one soon.

"I have no idea how long we can last against that guy though..." Lee Shin-Woo muttered.

"Why the hell did that thing pop up here when it's so hard to even find a level 7? You said there was only one level 7 elite bone in the Secret Shop!"

"Instead of pestering me, why don't you ask the Treasure Eater?"

Lee Shin-Woo was also speechless. This operation was supposed to be relatively risk-free and safe, and he had planned to finish things up smoothly! He would let the chimeras and the undead destroy each other, and then loot everything in the facility; things had gotten so out of hand all because of that asshole Steve.

To think that a level 7 Treasure Eater actually existed. Even if he had assumed its existence, how was he to know that a level 7 Treasure Eater would appear right before him? According to his seniors, Treasure Eaters were such a rare species that meeting one was like winning the lottery on Earth!

"Since it's come to this, it must pay for making us walk on such a tightrope."

"You sound really scary right now..."

[Guoooooh!]

Steve started attacking. Jin was able to avoid it easily with a quick acceleration; the lightning cannon ball missed them by a hair, leaving a crater several meters wide in its wake. If they had been directly hit by that, they would have been reduced to bone powder and died on the spot.

"...One of that would destroy the castle walls."

"It's alright. Shall we use the undead as meat shields?"

Fortunately, it seemed the skill wasn't something Steve could use often, as evident by the way it became noticeably weaker; the speed at which it chased them had also slowed. Seizing the moment, Lee Shin-Woo and Jin rushed to the outer castle walls.

One of the soldiers atop the walls noticed Lee Shin-Woo while surveying the surroundings and shouted in delight.

[The lord has returned!]

[Oh, the lord...!]

[The lord returned safely. Hurry, open the front gate...]

Before the undead could open the front gate, though, Jin let out a huff and put his strength into his legs. The soles of his feet, or rather his hooves, suddenly changed shape. Lee Shin-Woo caught a glimpse; they looked like spinning helical springs to him.

"Huh...?"

Did Jin just get an ability like the X Fruit!?[1] Lee Shin-Woo was astonished, and at that very moment, Jin slammed his feet against the ground, leaping high into the air. He reached such a ridiculous height in such a short period of time that even Lee Shin-Woo was shocked!

The undead seemed dumbfounded while Jin calmly landed on the castle walls. The deceivingly soft landing belied his powerful leap.

'How's that?'

'Awesome.'

'Heh.'

Pleased, Jin snorted at Lee Shin-Woo's honest appreciation. It seemed that Jin had been considering various ways in which he could make full use of his ability.

He took quite the liberty in utilizing Steel Heart, which enveloped his body in mana steel. He had thought that he could develop it any way he wanted. Still, to change a certain part of his body into springs... It was both a simple and extremely effective idea.

[My lord, isn't that horse Sir Seta's...!?]

[Now that you mention it, I don't see Sir Seta anywhere. Did he perhaps...]

"Sir Seta left this horse to me. He...fought loyally for the Empire as a knight till the bitter end."

[Ooh...]

The knights took the death of this imaginary figure, Sir Seta, hard. There were several holes in Lee Shin-Woo’s story that didn't make sense. For example, why Sir Seta had stopped appearing somewhere along the way, how he had died, or how he had bequeathed his horse to the lord. However, those trifling matters didn't matter to them right now.

[That monster will fall by our hands no matter what!]

[That's not all. We'll punish those disgusting bastards who invaded the Sanctuary in His Majesty's name!]

[Follow Sir Seta's example! Remember his will!]

[Uooooooooooh!]

Jin hadn’t done anything, but his existence alone boosted the undead’s morale. When he tilted his head in confusion, the pursuing Treasure Eater forcefully rammed into the outer castle wall and revealed itself to them!

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaah!]

[Kuak!]

With its gigantic, several-meter-long body, the Treasure Eater substituted its speed for weight in order to deliver a powerful charge attack! The impact was truly horrific. It seemed as though the castle walls would crumble then and there. Amid the quake, Lee Shin-Woo exclaimed in a calm, confident voice. Charisma was everything to a lord.

"Who defends Kadinan!?"

[We do!]

"Then defend it! Show that monster that it cannot look down on us!"

[Understood!]

Jin couldn't believe his eyes. The knights and soldiers atop the castle walls were taking the plunge, free-falling to the ground.

Several of the knights had landed properly, but the soldiers let out a horrific sound upon landing, as if that alone would kill them; yet the other soldiers followed suit and jumped!

'What the hell is that?!?'

'Suicide commandos.'

Lee Shin-Woo sounded matter-of-fact even as he egged them on. He didn't want to waste the precious knights, so he insisted on fielding the low-level commoners and soldiers first. With one order from the Lord of Blood and Iron, the city's undead stood before the castle walls without a speck of suspicion or fear!

[Guwooooooh!]

[For the Emperor!]

[For the lord!]

[For the... Kuhak!]

Skeletons from everywhere fell to the ground! The Treasure Eater charged once more, but it collided with the accumulated heaps of skeleton bones, and it had to be satisfied with breaking through the piles. It was both the result Lee Shin-Woo was hoping for and expecting.

To Lee Shin-Woo, sacrificing 100 level 1 and 2 skeletons to stop one of the Treasure Eater's attacks was well worth it.

'You... This is...'

"Show them your spirit; the spirit of warriors who won't let that monster through!"

Those 'warriors' had already turned into scattering bones, and no one would be able to find them even if they tried.

"Take after their courage! Show them that Kadinan will not fall today!"

[Uoooooooooh!]

[We can't lose to a mere monster!]

[It's time we repay the lord for his grace!]

The level 1 and 2 skeletons fell to the ground in droves, serving no purpose other than a momentary shield. However, it didn't matter. There were about 100,000 skeletons in the city that weren't part of the army.

'Good. With this, the inner city shouldn't fall before that guy arrives.'

'This isn't something a human being should be doing...'

'I'm a skeleton, remember?'

And those dying to the Treasure Eater were either skeletons or zombies. Lee Shin-Woo grinned as the Treasure Eater threw a fit and rampaged at the never-ending reinforcements that kept falling from the castle walls.

It didn't matter whether it decided to tackle them with its body or fire its lightning. Because hundreds, if not thousands of reinforcements were coming! The Treasure Eater was already quite tired from firing several large-scale attacks while chasing Lee Shin-Woo.

[Kuhieeeeeeek...!]

The undead kept gathering to prevent the Treasure Eater from advancing like a rising tide; seemingly realizing this, the Treasure Eater gave up on advancing rapidly to reserve its mana and stamina, opting to break through the skeletons slowly. It seemed to be saying, 'let's see who would get the last laugh.'

"Show that monster that our will is even more resilient than these very walls!"

[Glory to the Emperor!]

[I will give my life to protect you, my lord!]

And so, the bone shield plan began in earnest. One by one, the undead climbed up the walls and took a plunge at the Treasure Eater. The Treasure Eater destroyed those skeletons and accumulated bones...

'Wow, look at that line.'

"Jump one by one! Remember, one by one!"

There was now a queue for skeletons to climb the castle walls. It was as if they were lining up to get on an amusement park ride!

Jin watched the Treasure Eater restlessly shattering the skeletons and zombies, then the man who was sending the skeletons and zombies to their deaths one after another. It reminded him of a trainer tossing the lion food at a zoo.

'You're only doing this because fighting it would be troublesome, and you're passing on the job to the general, aren’t you?'

'You know me too well.'

Lee Shin-Woo checked the time and used the skeleton volunteers to great effect. 10,000, 20,000, 30,000... In just a few hours, Lee Shin-Woo had managed to clear about 70% of the city's level 1 and 2s.

When they died, they left behind a heaping mountain of bones, and the Treasure Eater had to put in the effort to destroy the accumulated bones. Since the bones contained the very essence of undead, they seemed to become more durable after their death, which forced the Treasure Eater to expend even more energy.

'You aren’t collecting those?'

'Level 1 or 2 bones are useless to me now. However, level 3 or 4 bones are different. You get my drift, Jin?'

'...Are you telling me to go and collect them?'

'Exactly!'

Fortunately, the Treasure Eater didn’t seem to be losing any strength even as Lee Shin-Woo continued to throw bones at it; rather, it seemed to be gradually getting stronger for some strange reason.

Because he'd never fought a Treasure Eater for this long before, Lee Shin-Woo hadn’t noticed that special trait of its kind. Considering its power and its hostility towards Lee Shin-Woo, it seemed that a Treasure Eater would become more and more powerful as its obsession over treasure intensified. It might be an innate skill of the Treasure Eaters.

“You're enduring well! The general will be here soon!”

[Uoooooooooooh!]

[My lord, I'll go as well!]

Finally, the time had come. All low-level undead in the city were gone, and now the level 3 and higher elite forces had to step up. Lee Shin-Woo nodded and yelled, “Your tenacious spirits will protect our city—no, our Empire!”

[You inspire the allied undead through Instigate! Command is temporarily strengthened, and a portion of your subordinates are able to use the skill 'Meat Shield'!]

[Intermediate Command is now Lv8. All stats have increased by 3!]

He'd hit the jackpot again. After Bone for Bone, a part of his subordinates was now able to use a skill called 'Meat Shield', which would increase their defense by three times when sacrificing themselves to protect another.

[I will...protect this city!]

[My lord, please watch over me!]

The skeletons that had acquired the skill jumped down with redoubled courage. Of course, even though their defense had been tripled, they were facing a level 7 elite, and they had merely delayed their futile death after 1 second to 10 seconds. Lee Shin-Woo watched as they died with an impassive expression, but inwardly, he was telling Jin what he wanted him to do.

'Collect bones after a good number has accumulated, but before they break. Okay?'

'You demon...'

Three hours later, when Lee Shin-Woo was sure that they wouldn't be able to stop the Treasure Eater from reaching the outer walls, he abandoned the outer walls and allowed the Treasure Eater to destroy them as it pleased; they shut themselves in the inner city and began their second stand.

Time passed by even quicker. All level 3 soldiers and level 4 knights had died. The Treasure Eater had claimed half of the level 5 Elder Knights as well. Realizing that it would be their turn soon, the few level 6 elites got extremely scared. Then...

[Ah... You fools...!]

The general had arrived.

1. T/N: Toy Car has a tendency of censoring really obvious references. I believe this one is referencing the Devil Fruits from One Piece, or more specifically, the Bane Bane no Mi (allows the user to turn their limbs into springs).